


Don't Go, I Love You So

by learningthetrees



Category: Slow West (2015)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7497231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/learningthetrees/pseuds/learningthetrees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Lord in Heaven</i>, she prayed, <i>I commend this beast unto Your care</i>. Rose touched her forehead and either shoulder, crossing herself before God, and then she raised the pistol level with the bobcat’s head. It closed its eyes, almost as if in relief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Go, I Love You So

She heard the shot first. It tore through the western silence, echoing across the plain, and Rose looked up from where she sat by the window. She clutched the pistol she’d been oiling and peered outside. There was no movement to be seen aside from a breeze gently rustling the far-off, ruddy boughs of Silver Ghost.

She was about to return to her task when there was the unmistakable pained yelp of a creature dying. It heaved out once, twice, and then Rose was on her feet, cocking the pistol and pushing open the front door of the cabin. The plain was still and quiet, until the animal cried out again, this time more desperate.

There were plenty of hunters that patrolled the area. The population of deer and squirrels kept many a family fed through the winter. So the sound of gunshots, although startling, was not unsurprising, especially with autumn settling in. But the anguished cries — they were not of a deer. Something was suffering, and Rose couldn’t abide by it.

She started down the stairs, glancing behind her. Across the field, Silas was harvesting the last of the chicories, his hat tipped backward on his head, his back to her. She thought for a moment of telling him where she was headed, but based on the sound of the animal, she wouldn’t be going far.

When she crossed the tree line into the forest, Rose slowed, stepping carefully through the underbrush, placing each footfall so as not to make a sound. She had improved at this over time — not being seen or heard. More than once, it had kept her alive. _Watch where you’re going_ , Rose reminded herself. _Look around. Quiet. Careful. Quiet._

Just as she had suspected, the felled beast wasn’t far. Rose spotted a pile of fur matted with blood, its side heaving as it struggled to draw breath. Lifting her gun, Rose continued to creep forward, searching past the animal to the trees beyond. Someone had shot it. They would be on their way here now.

She glanced down to see it was a bobcat — the lean, spotted cat shot in the shoulder. Its gold eyes fluttered up to hers, and she felt her heart twinge at the sight of it. She had seen that look on the faces of men before; it was a resignation to death.

_Lord in Heaven,_ she prayed, _I commend this beast unto Your care_. Rose touched her forehead and either shoulder, crossing herself before God, and then she raised the pistol level with the bobcat’s head. It closed its eyes, almost as if in relief.

Before she could pull the trigger, another shot rang out. For a moment, Rose felt nothing. Then her hand opened, the pistol dropping from her grip, and she plummeted backwards, propelled by a strike to to her side. She felt herself hit the ground next to the cat. There was darkness. There was nothingness.

“Rose.”

_Lord in Heaven, I commend myself unto Your care_.

“ _Rose_.”

_Father God, please hear my prayer_.

“Rose!”

All at once, she felt again. A searing pain was shooting through her side, a mind-numbing ache set deep into her middle. There were arms surrounding her. Rose thought they were arms of the angels.

_Dear Lord in Heaven —_

“God, Rose, wake up!”

She forced her eyes to open, practically wrenching them from their resting place. Silas’s face was inches from hers — eyebrows knit in fear, mouth twisted, face red. His cheeks may have been wet.

“What —?” Rose tried to speak, but an even sharper pain shot through her side when she exhaled.

“Shh.” Silas propped her up against him. “Let me see.”

He lifted her shirt — she looked down to see it was soaked in blood, and more blood was pooling beneath her, his hands dripping with it — and inspected her side. His breath escaped him in a huff. “Bullet just grazed you,” Silas said. He glanced around them, his eyes darting in each direction for some sign of the shooter. “Bastard ran off.”

It felt worse. A fire had ignited inside her, spreading outward from her ribs across her skin until she was engulfed. Another wave of pain washed over her, and she could hardly keep her eyes open.

Silas saw her fading. “Rose, stay with me,” he said, cupping her head in his hand. “Rose!”

She groaned. “I can’t.”

“Don’t —” Silas gritted his teeth. “Don’t do this, Rose. Don’t…”

His words petered away as her world darkened.

_Lord in Heaven…_

The world returned in flashes. Silas swinging her up into his arms. Gently being lowered onto the bed. Then shuddering, blinding pain as something wet and hot pressed against her side. Darkness. Light. Heat. Cold. Pain. A voice muttering.

The pain woke Rose — or maybe it was the sound of the voice. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. Then she recognized the room that had long since fallen dark. A single candle was dwindling down on the table, casting long shadows. At first, she thought she was alone, but then she heard the voice again.

"Don’t go.” Silas knelt on the floor beside her, hunched over the edge of the bed, hands grasping the blankets. “Don’t go.” He spoke not above a whisper, but Rose could hear the anguish in his words. It was a sound she had never heard from him.

She stirred, starting when the pain intensified in her side. Silas looked up, and even in the low orange glow, Rose could see his eyes were red and wet, his cheeks stained with tears. He leaned forward, reaching out and grabbing her hand. He held it tight, and Rose watched a shimmering tear trace down his cheek. “I love you,” he whispered before bringing her hand to his lips.

Rose drew a breath, and despite the pain, whispered through the dark. “I’m not going anywhere.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me at [ask-learningthetrees.tumblr.com](http://www.ask-learningthetrees.tumblr.com)!


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